Читать книгу Stardust and the Daredevil Ponies - Stacy Gregg - Страница 8

Stella’s cheeks were as red as her hair. She looked like she was about to explode.

“You’ve done what?” she spluttered in disbelief.

“I’ve asked Natasha Tucker,” Issie groaned.

“But why, Issie? It was going to be such fun–you, me and Kate. Why would you ask Natasha?”

“Because Aunty Hess really needed a fourth rider and it had to be a girl because we’ll be stunt-doubling for the actresses in the film. Natasha is a good rider and she was the only other person I could think of.”

“What about Morgan?” Kate offered. “Couldn’t you have asked her instead?”

“She’s away on the showjumping circuit right now with her mum,” Issie said.

“This is a nightmare!” Stella fumed.

“I can’t believe Natasha wants to come with us,” Kate said. “She usually ignores us at pony club.”

Issie shrugged. “I know.” She had dreaded turning up at the River Paddock this morning to break the news to Kate and Stella. She knew they would take it badly.

“What a nightmare!” Stella groaned again.

“Oh, Stella, get over it. Don’t be such a drama queen,” Kate snapped.

“Natasha will have to behave herself,” Issie pointed out. “Aunty Hess will be there running things and so will Aidan…”

“Aidan?” Stella said. “Ohmygod, Issie! You didn’t tell me Aidan was going to be there. You haven’t seen him since last summer.”

“Yes, Stella, I know. I don’t need reminding,” Issie replied, trying to shut Stella up.

Aidan was Aunt Hester’s stable manager. The last time Issie saw him was the morning they left Blackthorn Farm. She still remembered Aidan’s kiss, the way his long dark fringe had brushed against her face and she had felt her heart race. She had been so shocked that she hadn’t known what to say. Then Aidan had got all embarrassed and run off and they hadn’t spoken since. Only Stella and Kate knew about this–she had told them once they got home. Although Issie was beginning to wish she hadn’t said anything about it to Stella at all. Stella was her best friend but she was also boy-mad and could be a bit of a twit sometimes–she was bound to blab to Aidan and embarrass her!

“Don’t say anything to him about it, OK, Stella?” Issie begged her.

Stella grinned back. “About what?”

Issie blushed. “Anyway,” she said, changing the subject back to Natasha, “I’ve already asked Natasha. Her mum says it’s OK and she’s coming and that’s final. You need to be at my house tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. We’re all trucking out to the film set together.

“How far is it?” Kate asked.

“It’s only about an hour away, up past the lake,” Issie said. “You know where the ruins of Chevalier Castle are, on that big hill? Well, that’s why they’re filming here. They’re using the castle as part of their film set and they’ve built all these other sets and everything there. There are sleeping quarters for the stunt riders and wranglers too. We’ll be working long hours and we need to take care of the horses so we’ll stay there during the week, but we can come home at weekends.”

“What about Blaze?” Kate asked. “You can’t leave her here alone all week with the foal coming.”

“I’ve already moved her to Winterflood Farm,” Issie said. “Avery says he’ll keep an eye on her. Besides, the vet says she’s still not due for another month…”

“It’s so exciting!” Stella blurted out. “I can’t believe Blaze is actually going to have a foal!”

Issie still couldn’t believe it herself. When the vet at Blackthorn Farm had told her the news she had been in shock. At first, Issie had assumed that the father must be the jet black wild stallion Destiny. Destiny had amazing bloodlines. He had been sired by Aunt Hester’s own beloved Swedish Warmblood stallion, Avignon, so Issie had been very excited at the prospect of Blaze carrying the black stallion’s foal.

Then, when Issie got home and her own vet examined Blaze, he dropped a bombshell. Blaze wasn’t just a little bit pregnant. It seemed she was very pregnant indeed. The mare was more than three months gone already! That meant that Destiny couldn’t possibly be the sire. Issie had been stunned. If Destiny wasn’t the father of this foal, then who was? Finally, she figured it out. Marius! The great, grey Lipizzaner stallion was the star of the El Caballo Danza Magnifico —the famed Spanish dancing horses. Blaze had once belonged to the troupe too, one of the El Caballo’s seven Anglo-Arab mares, renowned for their beauty and balletic performances in the arena.

When Issie thought about it the timing made perfect sense. Blaze had been returned briefly to Francoise D’arth, the head trainer at the El Caballo Danza Magnifico. Issie remembered going to visit Blaze at the El Caballo stables. She had arrived to find Francoise busily ticking off the stable boys for allowing Marius to jump out of his paddock in with the mares. It took almost all day before the stable boys realised the stallion was in the wrong paddock.

Issie had immediately sent a letter to Francoise, telling her the exciting news, but she hadn’t had a reply. Then Issie saw a big story in PONY Magazine about the El Caballo Danza Magnifico which said the troupe was still on its world tour. Perhaps Francoise hadn’t been home and had never received Issie’s letter. The French trainer would surely have got in touch if she knew that Blaze was going to have a foal.

There was still a month to go, but every day that Issie checked on Blaze she seemed to be more and more enormous. Her belly was now so huge that Issie couldn’t fit a girth around her and the pony was eating twice as much hard feed as usual, as well as the lush spring grass in her paddock at Winterflood Farm.

Avery, meanwhile, was like an expectant father, fussing over the mare. He had set up the barn ready for the birth and organised the foaling monitor that would alert them the minute Blaze went into labour.

“The foaling monitor means we can leave her outdoors to graze naturally until she actually goes into labour. After that, things tend to happen very quickly,” Avery warned Issie. “When my great showjumping mare Starlight was foaling, I popped off to grab a cup of tea and by the time I came back from the kitchen she’d had him and the little tyke was already trying to stand up!”

Everything was prepared and the vet had pronounced Blaze perfectly healthy. Still, Issie was nervous about going away with Aunt Hester and leaving her pony.

“She’ll be fine,” Avery reassured Issie. “You go and have fun. I’ll keep an eye on her, don’t you worry. You’re only an hour away–I’ll let you know the minute anything happens, I promise.”

“Just don’t make any cups of tea while I’m gone. I don’t want Blaze to have her foal without me!” Issie had joked.

Even with Avery’s reassurances, Issie didn’t want to say goodbye to Blaze. On the night before the truck was due to pick them up and take them to the film set, she stopped by Winterflood Farm and stood in the paddock for ages, giving the mare snuggles and feeding her at least six carrots.

“After all,” she giggled as Blaze snuffled and munched a carrot from the palm of her hand, “you are eating for two, aren’t you, girl?”

She ran her hands one last time through Blaze’s long flaxen-blonde mane. The mare was so pretty with her dished Arabian face and her perfect white blaze. Issie loved Blaze so deeply now it seemed strange when she thought back to the day they first met.

It was Tom Avery who had brought Blaze to her. The chestnut Anglo-Arab had been so awfully mistreated, she was in a terrible state. Avery and the International League for the Protection of Horses had rescued her. Issie couldn’t believe it when Avery told her he wanted Issie to be her guardian and take care of the mare.

It was a lot for him to ask. Until Blaze turned up, Issie had sworn off horses for good. She didn’t want anything more to do with them after what had happened to Mystic.

Mystic had been Issie’s first ever horse. A fourteen-hand, swaybacked grey gelding with faded dapples and a shaggy mane. Issie had loved Mystic deeply from the first day they met. When Mystic had been killed in a road accident at the pony club, Issie thought she would never get over it. She was sure she would never have another horse. But Avery knew better. He brought Blaze to her and together the broken-hearted girl and the broken-spirited pony healed each other and became a real team.

And Mystic? His death was just the beginning of a whole new adventure. Issie’s bond with Mystic was more powerful than even she suspected. In fact Mystic wasn’t truly gone at all. Whenever things got really bad, whenever Issie needed him most, he would be there at her side–not like a ghost or anything like that, but a real horse, flesh and blood.

Mystic was her guardian angel. He had saved her and Blaze countless times now. She hadn’t seen the grey gelding in a long time, but she felt his presence more strongly than ever now that Blaze was close to foaling. Just knowing that the grey gelding was watching over Blaze and protecting her made Issie feel better about leaving the mare behind.

“I have to go, but Mystic will keep an eye on you, OK, girl?” Issie murmured as the mare nuzzled against her. Then she gave Blaze one more carrot for the road and left the mare in the paddock, heading home to pack her bags.

But when she got home, Issie was surprised to find her bags already packed and her sleeping bag rolled and ready at the front door.

“Mum?” Issie called out. Mrs Brown emerged from the kitchen.

“There you are!” she said breezily. “I figured you’d be running late so I went ahead and packed for you. I’ve washed and folded all that stuff you had in your laundry basket and put that in, and you’ve got three pairs of jodhpurs, your new hoodie and your PONY Magazines…”

“But Mum, I thought you didn’t really want me to go,” Issie said.

“Well, I was hoping you’d get a nice, safe, ordinary part-time job on the supermarket check-out for the holidays.” Mrs Brown put her arms round Issie and gave her a hug. “But then I realised you wouldn’t be my Issie if you did that, would you?”

Mrs Brown’s hug got tighter. “I’ve told Hester to take good care of you this time, and I’ll be there to pick you up and bring you home at the weekend.” She let go of Issie and smiled. “Your dinner is ready–go and sit at the table. After that, you better get straight up to bed. You have an early start in the morning.”

Issie did go straight to bed after dinner and she was so exhausted she had no trouble falling asleep. The last thing she remembered was setting her alarm clock for six. Then she was dreaming. In her dream she could hear Avery calling to her. He was telling her to hurry up because Blaze was having the foal. Issie could hear the foaling monitor going parp! parp! parp! telling her that she must go to her mare, but it was like her limbs were made of lead, it was so hard to move. Then, as she drowsily woke up out of her sleep, she realised the noise wasn’t a foaling alarm at all. It was the sound of her alarm clock and there was her mother, sitting beside her on the bed and shaking her gently by the shoulder.

“Issie! It’s time to get going. I came in and woke you up already, but you must have gone straight back to sleep,” Mrs Brown said. “Come on. Everyone is here waiting for you.”

“What time is it now?” Issie mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“Seven o’clock.”

“Ohmygod!”

Issie leapt out of bed. She pulled on her dressing gown and ran to the window on the other side of the hallway, the one that looked out to the main street. Aidan’s horse truck was already parked outside. Issie could see Stella, Kate and Natasha waving madly through the truck windows at her. Stella was mouthing something at her but Issie couldn’t hear her. “What?” she called back. Stella looked exasperated and wound down her window. “I said hurry up, sleepyhead!” she laughed. “We’ve been waiting for ages!”

“Yeah, come on!” Kate grinned at her.

Natasha glared at her balefully. “Typical,” she said. “Making the rest of us wait for you.”

“Sorry! I’m coming. Give me five minutes!” Issie called back.

There was barely time for a shower and no time for breakfast. Mrs Brown managed to thrust a piece of Marmite toast in Issie’s hand and give her daughter a kiss goodbye as she raced out of the door.

Outside the horse truck was waiting. A boy stood by the door of the truck cab. He was wearing black jeans and a flannel shirt and his long dark hair fell in a floppy fringe over his face. “I’ve put your bags in the truck. The others are all sitting in the back, but I thought you might like to ride up in the cab with me,” Aidan said.

Aidan! Issie could feel her heart beating fast in her chest and her mouth was so dry there was no way she could choke down the last bite of the Marmite toast. “Uh-huh,” she managed.

Aidan looked pleased and gave her a shy smile, pushing his fringe back so that Issie could see his startling blue eyes. “Let’s go then!”

The first five minutes of the drive were excruciatingly painful. Issie didn’t know what to say so the pair of them sat there in silence looking out the window.

Finally Aidan spoke. “Do you know much about this movie?”

“I’ve read the book, like, a hundred times,” Issie said. “There’s this princess–her name is Galatea, but everyone calls her Gala. She’s the ruler of a kingdom where the women are all princesses and brave warriors–but she’s the strongest of them all and she has superpowers and stuff. Anyway, in Galatea’s realm the horses are all palominos and they have magical powers too. Then there are all these really creepy guys called the Elerians. The Elerians have these black horses, and the really horrible part is that their horses were all once palominos too. They used to belong to Galatea’s stables, but one by one the Elerians have captured them and turned them into the Horses of Darkness. The Elerians are actually vampires–except they bite horses, not people. They use their vampire fangs to suck all the life out of the palominos and turn them into these awful black horses, drained of all their pure strength and overcome by evil…”

Issie suddenly turned to look at Aidan. Why was he smiling at her? “What?” she said defensively. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing’s funny!” Aidan said, still smiling. “It’s just that I’d forgotten how excited you get about stuff–especially horses. I really like that about you.”

Issie fumbled around in her bag. “Here,” she said, handing Aidan a dog-eared paperback. “I brought my copy with me. You can borrow it if you like.”

Aidan smiled. “I’ve already read it. It’s one of my favourite books too.”

After that, Issie and Aidan talked non-stop and the hour-long drive seemed to take no time at all. The horse truck thundered along the road past the pine forests north of Chevalier Point, through rolling green fields dotted with grazing cows. Finally they pulled off the main road down a gravel driveway and Issie was surprised when they were stopped by a burly security guard at the farm gate.

“There have been loads of paparazzi–tabloid newspaper photographers–trying to get on the set,” Aidan explained to Issie as they drove on again through the paddocks. “Apparently the girl they’ve got playing Princess Galatea is really famous. There’s been loads of rumours. They’re trying to keep everything hush-hush. Even the crew haven’t been told who it is…”

But Issie wasn’t really listening to him. She was too busy looking out the front window of the truck.

“Ohmygod!” she breathed. “Aidan! This is incredible!”

As they came over the hill, there in front of them was a grand golden gate that led to a vast white cobbled courtyard and in the centre was a gold fountain, with life-size statues of rearing horses spouting brilliant turquoise water from their golden mouths. Surrounding the white courtyard were rows of white loose boxes with golden doors.

“The stables of Princess Galatea,” Aidan grinned. He turned the horse truck past the golden gates. “And over there is the black castle of Eleria.”

Issie looked to her left and saw the familiar sight of Chevalier Castle. Only the castle didn’t look like it usually did. The ruins, which sat on top of a hill that looked out over farmland and forest, had been sprayed with black paint. The broad, cobblestone terraces that wound round and round like a corkscrew to the summit had also been painted black. The castle, with spikes on its turrets and a huge iron portcullis, would have been a terrifying vision if it weren’t for the crew members and builders running about the place. Everywhere you looked there were set dressers lugging enormous black-varnished styrofoam boulders towards the castle or painting fake green slime on the drawbridge.

“Production has been under way for weeks now. These are just the finishing touches. They’re nearly ready to start filming,” Aidan said.

He turned the truck around and parked it near the golden gates of the stables, giving a cheery wave to one of the set dressers who was busily pouring more turquoise dye into the golden fountain.

“We brought all the horses here a month ago–Hester has done loads of desensitising work with them. They’ve filmed some of the vampire riders’ scenes already–but the main stunts need palomino riders too and that’s where you come in.” He jumped out of the truck cab, followed by Issie.

“I’ll give you a proper tour later, but first let’s get you all settled in. Your rooms are over there behind the stable block. We’ll grab your bags. It’s easier if we walk through from here.”

As Aidan said this, the door swung open on the side of the truck and Stella, Kate and Natasha emerged.

“Whoa!” Stella said, looking at the golden stables. “Is this where we’ll be staying?” The others laughed.

“The golden stables!” Kate squealed. “They’re just like I always imagined they’d look!”

“I know,” Issie beamed. “Isn’t it cool?”

Natasha was the last to climb out of the truck. She cast a disdainful glance at Aidan.

“Well? Where are our rooms?” she demanded, gesturing at the luggage lying on the ground. “Come on! Bring my bags, will you?”

Stella rounded on Natasha immediately. “Aidan’s not your servant, you know. We all carry our own bags around here.”

“Oh, really?” Natasha glared at her. “Mummy always told me that ladies never carry luggage. I’m not sure what your mother taught you…”

Before Stella could snap back, they were interrupted by the sight of the most enormous car they’d ever seen cruising towards them down the driveway.

“What is that?” Kate said as the chrome-yellow Hummer with black tinted windows pulled up next to them.

“You mean who is that, don’t you?” Aidan said. “I have a feeling we’re finally going to discover who’s got the starring role in The Palomino Princess.”

As the rest of the crew ran over to the Hummer and gathered round, the front doors of the vehicle swung open and two men in black suits wearing earpiece microphones jumped out.

“Who are they? I don’t recognise them. Are they famous?” Issie whispered to Aidan.

“I think they’re just the bodyguards,” Aidan whispered back.

The bodyguards spoke into their earpieces and nodded to each other. Then one of the men stood guard while the other opened the back door of the Hummer. From behind the tinted glass a girl emerged, helped down by a third bodyguard.

“Ohmygod! I don’t believe it! It’s the Teen Drama Queen!” Stella squealed.

“Stella!” Issie hissed at her. “Don’t! You’ll embarrass her!”

The girl, who had clearly heard Stella’s comment, pushed her dark glasses back to reveal her violet eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said in a soft mid-west American accent. “People always call me that. I get it, like, all the time.” She smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth. “Are y’all working on the movie?” she asked.

“Ummm, yes. We’re stunt riders,” Issie said. “My name is Isadora and this is Stella and Kate, Natasha and Aidan.”

“Nice to meet y’all.” The girl smiled again. “I’m Angelique Adams.”